airbag HUMMER H2 2007 User Guide

Airbag System
Your vehicle has an airbag for the driver and an
airbag for the right front passenger.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today’s
airbags are also designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inating bag, all
airbags must inate very quickly to do their job.
Here are the most important things to know about
the airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a
crash if you are not wearing your safety
belt — even if you have airbags. Wearing
your safety belt during a crash helps
reduce your chance of hitting things
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it.
Airbags are “supplemental restraints” to
the safety belts. All airbags are designed
to work with safety belts, but do not
replace them.
{CAUTION:
Airbags are designed to deploy in
moderate to severe frontal and near
frontal crashes. They are not designed to
inate in rollover, rear crashes, or in many
side crashes. And, for some unrestrained
occupants, airbags may provide less
protection in frontal crashes than more
forceful airbags have provided in the past.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly — whether or not
there is an airbag for that person.
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{CAUTION:
Airbags inate with great force, faster
than the blink of an eye. If you are too
close to an inating airbag, as you would
be if you were leaning forward, it could
seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
with airbags. The driver should sit as far
back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close
to, any airbag when it inates can be
seriously injured or killed. Airbags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best
protection for adults, but not for young
children and infants. Neither the vehicle’s
safety belt system nor its airbag system is
designed for them. Young children and
infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always
secure children properly in your vehicle.
To read how, seeOlder Children on
page 46andInfants and Young Children
on page 49.
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There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the
airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an
electrical problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on
page 207for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and
an airbag, the bag might not inate
properly or it might force the object into
that person causing severe injury or even
death. The path of an inating airbag must
be kept clear. Do not put anything
between an occupant and an airbag, and
do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any
other airbag covering.
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When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
airbags are designed to inate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes. But they are
designed to inate only if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment
thresholds take into account a variety of desired
deployment and non-deployment events and are
used to predict how severe a crash is likely to be in
time for the airbags to inate and help restrain the
occupants. Whether your frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based on how fast your vehicle
is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit, the
direction of the impact, and how quickly your
vehicle slows down.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that does not move or deform, the threshold
level is about 9 to 17 mph (14 to 27 km/h). The
threshold level can vary, however, with specic
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above
or below this range.Frontal airbags may inate at different crash
speeds. For example:If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits an object that
does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole),
the airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits a wide object
(like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle,
the airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle goes straight into
the object.
Frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger)
are not intended to inate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
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In any particular crash, no one can say whether
an airbag should have inated simply because
of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the
repair costs were. Ination is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and
how quickly the vehicle slows down.
The airbag system is designed to work properly
under a wide range of conditions, including off-road
usage. Observe safe driving speeds, especially
on rough terrain. As always, wear your safety belt.
SeeOff-Road Driving on page 317for more tips
on off-road driving.
What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is
in a crash. The sensing system triggers a release
of gas from the inator, which inates the
airbag. The inator, airbag, and related hardware
are all part of the airbag modules inside the
steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front
of the right front passenger.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the
steering wheel or the instrument panel. The
airbag supplements the protection provided by
safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually.
But airbags would not help you in many types of
collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts,
and many side impacts, primarily because an
occupant’s motion is not toward those airbags.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then
only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions.
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What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After an airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
airbag inated. Some components of the airbag
module — the steering wheel hub for the driver’s
airbag or the instrument panel for the right
front passenger’s bag — may be hot for a short
time. The parts of the airbag that come into contact
with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch.
There may be some smoke and dust coming from
the vents in the deated airbags. Airbag ination
does not prevent the driver from seeing out of the
windshield or being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it prevent people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag inates, there may be
dust in the air. This dust could cause
breathing problems for people with a
history of asthma or other breathing
trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it is
safe to do so. If you have breathing
problems but cannot get out of the vehicle
after an airbag inates, then get fresh air
by opening a window or a door. If you
experience breathing problems following
an airbag deployment, you should seek
medical attention.
Your vehicle has a feature that may automatically
unlock the doors, turn the interior lamps on,
and turn the hazard warning ashers on when the
airbags inate. You can lock the doors again,
turn the interior lamps off, and turn the hazard
warning ashers off by using the controls for those
features.
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In many crashes severe enough to inate an
airbag, windshields are broken by vehicle
deformation. Additional windshield breakage
may also occur from the right front
passenger airbag.
Airbags are designed to inate only once.
After they inate, you will need some new
parts for the airbag system. If you do not get
them, the airbag system will not be there
to help protect you in another crash. A new
system will include airbag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for
your vehicle covers the need to replace
other parts.
Your vehicle has a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information
after a crash. SeeVehicle Data Collection and
Event Data Recorders on page 546.
Let only qualied technicians work on the
airbag system. Improper service can mean that
an airbag system will not work properly. See
your dealer for service.
Airbag Off Switch
Your vehicle has a switch on the instrument panel
that you can use to turn off the right front
passenger’s airbag.
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Medical Condition.A passenger has a
medical condition which, according to his or
her physician:

causes the passenger airbag to pose a
special risk for the passenger; and
makes the potential harm from the passenger
airbag in a crash greater than the potential
harm from turning off the airbag and allowing
the passenger, even if belted, to hit the
dashboard or windshield in a crash.
{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s airbag is
turned off for a person who is not in a risk
group identied by the national
government, that person will not have the
extra protection of an airbag. In a crash,
the airbag will not be able to inate and
help protect the person sitting there. Do
not turn off the passenger’s airbag unless
the person sitting there is in a risk group.To turn off the right front passenger’s airbag,
insert your ignition key into the switch, push in,
and move the switch to the off position.
The airbag off light will come on to let you know that
the right front passenger’s airbag is off. The airbag
off light will stay on to remind you that the airbag is
off. The right front passenger’s airbag will remain off
until you turn it back on again.
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{CAUTION:
If the airbag readiness light ever comes on
when you have turned off the airbag, it
means that something may be wrong with
the airbag system. The right front
passenger’s airbag could inate even
though the switch is off. If this ever
happens, do not let anyone whom the
national government has identied as a
member of a passenger airbag risk group
sit in the right front passenger’s position
(for example, do not secure a rear-facing
child restraint in the right front passenger’s
seat) until you have your vehicle serviced.
SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 207
for additional information.To turn the right front passenger’s airbag on
again, insert your ignition key into the switch, push
in, and move the switch to the on position.
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